14 in 2014

Several years ago, I found a post by another blogger that listed the 10 things she wanted to accomplish in 2010 (11 in 2011, etc), and I thought it was a really neat idea.  For the most part, I've managed to write one of these posts *almost* every year since 2010, and although I've been a lax blogger lately it's definitely time for the 2014 one. So, here is my 14 in 2014 (some of the goals are borrowed from last year because I never completed them):

1. Get into grad school. Self-explanatory, it needs to happen. I'm not getting any younger (or smarter).
2. Get flat(ter) abs. I haven't been pregnant- I shouldn't look like it. I'm accepting that my body is not built for an actual 6-pack but I don't like that I can squish my belly into  a donut shape and talk about Krispy Kreme with my belly button.
3. Run a 1/2 marathon. I continue to despise running but I'm signed up for a half-marathon in April and I really should just suck it up and do it. Besides, I've always wanted to prove to myself that I could run 13 miles rather than sit on the couch and watch Castle reruns.
4. Travel somewhere new. With grad school looming in the near future, this may not happen, but as always I'm going to aim for it. I guess this year I'll just have to aim for somewhere within the borders of the United States. 
5. Volunteer. I originally wanted to volunteer at a shelter but I realized I'd just want to take all of the animals home with me. Since then, I've been contemplating different places but need to just suck it up, find one I'm at least semi-passionate about, and do it.
6. Learn basic medical Spanish. "Tiene dolor?" only gets you just so far. Plus it would help when I (eventually) become a nurse practitioner.
7. Spend as much time as possible with my nephew and sister. Because once they move to Japan it might be a very long time before I see either of them again. And I super love both of them.
8. Start riding horses again. Do I say this every year? Why yes, yes I do.
9. Get a massage once a month. Many people may laugh at this, but ever since I hurt my back at work and burned through some PDO I realized I need to take better care of my body parts, including my worn out muscles. Massages help and I'd rather do that than get dependent on pain medications.
10. Find a hobby I'm passionate about. I try a lot of things and most of them I never seem to stick with. I think my personal satisfaction and my marriage would both benefit from me finding something to do in my spare time that I truly enjoy.
11. Get my concealed carry & a handgun. The world is changing and the direction it's heading is not towards sunshine, rainbows, and unicorns. If someone decides to threaten my safety, especially in my own house, I have every intention of defending myself. 
12. Pay off some debt. It's so much fun accumulating it but it's nearing the time to start paying it back. Damn you Amazon.com.
13. Read a wider variety of books. Sometimes I don't read for a month, other times I get stuck on one genre and read 20 of those in one month. I really want to branch out more and attempt to include more classics or "book club" type books. It can't hurt and it's always nice to widen my vocabulary.
14. Watch less TV. Between AB and I our DVR probably records 20 shows a week...and then we sit on our tails and watch all of them...along with some Castle reruns, some HIMYM reruns, and occasionally some 90210 reruns. Both of us need to spend less time in from of the tube and more time doing something else (see above).

Does anyone have any goals they want to achieve in 2014?

Six Things Saturday

I missed Five Things Friday...for several weeks now...but I felt the urge to publish something. I know I have family members who click on this page out of habit by now, so no need to completely disappear despite my overwhelming urge to run away and never come back.

1. I've been re-thinking what I want this blog to be about. I love to read others' blogs about fitness and running, mainly because they help keep me motivated, but I've realized that I personally have no interest in writing about that stuff. I genuinely don't want to share how far I ran yesterday, or how long it took me, or what I ate that will make others roll their eyes and tell me to just eat a burger already. I run, several times a week, but I run for my own personal health and not to impress anyone else. I believe beer and cupcakes are a food group, and regardless of the fact that I slave for 12 hours over people who are diabetic, artery clogged, morbidly obese messes, I have no intention of not eating things that make me happy. I just have to run longer to make up for it; totally worth the sacrifice. With all of that said, I'm still not sure what type of blog I want this to be, but I know it won't be a fitness or food one.

2. I received my first Stitch Fix a couple of weeks ago and ended up loving two of the items, a light sweater/jacket and a loose hippie- looking shirt. I meant to take pictures of both of them on me, but I'm not a fan of selfies and asking my husband to do it just opens up a whole new can of ridiculous worms. I will say that I've already scheduled my next Fix for Sept 20th and I'm looking forward to seeing what my stylist sends then!

3. I've rediscovered Pinterest. I forgot how many awesome pumpkin recipes appear on there and how many neat tattoos and outfits I end up loving. Plus it's an excellent waste of time considering I still haven't re-opened my Facebook account (go me!).

4. Our youngest cat is very photogenic and she has no problem posing for the camera. Enough said.

5. I started decorating for fall. I love fall. I especially love fall because the horrible humid heat starts to go away AND because it means everything pumpkin. For those who don't know, I LOVE pumpkin. Once I get back from vacation (which will be in a different post), I will begin my annual collection of pumpkins and gourds.

6. I did yard work today. That's right- I haven't mowed the lawn since I was a kid living on Harvey St but, while sitting outside enjoying a Dogfish Head beer, I made the snap decision to get sweaty and grassy. I also walked through a whole bunch of dog poop but at least the backyard looks good. I think even AB was impressed. Next time I get the urge I will wear gloves.

Five Things Friday

1. I am absolutely in love with Sudocrem. My sister first introduced me to it about a year ago as a possible treatment for my cystic acne, for which I've pretty much tried everything. I briefly gave it a shot (so I'm a little impatient) before finally going to a dermatologist and getting put on Spironolactone (miracle acne drug for me). My little jar of Sudocrem was then vanquished to the back of my bathroom cabinet until recently, when AB asked if he could try it for some chaffing. While it didn't make a huge difference for my acne, apparently it is a miracle cure for chaffing! Since then both AB and I have tried using it for various things and this is what it works wonderfully for (so far):

• Chaffing (for the third time0
• Razor burn
• Rashes of unknown origin
• Blisters
• Hot spots on my dog*
• Calluses on my dog's bony joints*
• My dog's ever-inflamed butt*
• Self-contained staph infections...on my dog*

*My vet was questionable about using Sudocrem on Stetson at first, but once she looked it up and read more about it, she jumped on the train with us- surprisingly Stetson doesn't lick it off; if it feels as good to him as it does to me on my post-running flabby underarm chaffing then I'm not surprised!

2. I'm giving Stitch Fix a try. I read a lot of blogs, and since it kept popping up over and over again I figured, why not? The worst that could happen is that I'd be out $20. Stitch Fix is like an online personal shopper; you fill out a [very] detailed profile, pay $20, and you are sent 5 pieces of clothing/accessories to try. You can choose to buy any, all, or none and mail back the rest within 3 days in a postage paid box. Whatever you do decide to buy you can apply the $20 towards, and if you keep all 5 items you get 25% off the entire box. You can do monthly "fixes" or just order one when you feel like something new. If you're a Pinner, you can give the company the link to your pinned clothing so they can get an idea of what you like. When you mail something back you have the option to let them know what you didn't like about it. I may end up not liking any of it at all, but I'll update once I receive my first box the week of August 30th. If anyone decides to try it, please use this link so that I can get a referral credit!

3. Canned pumpkin is the insanely cheap and easy solution to my dog's whacky bowel habits. Stetson has always had issues with his digestive tract, and since the cancer and chemo it's been even more off-kilter. We're constantly battling diarrhea and colitis so I finally took my vet's advice and started mixing a tablespoon of pumpkin into Stetson's wet food two times a day. Problem solved; the poor dog has regular bowel movements and no diarrhea! Amazing.

4. I have finally made it to Week 12 of the Couch to 10K. Running 30 minutes straight sucks; running for 54 minutes straight is miserable...but I can do it! Shockingly, my eating habits haven't changed a bit and yet I haven't even managed to drop another pound. Maybe it's the beer...

5. I haven't had a cupcake in 6 weeks. That's right, the self-diagnosed cupcake addict has managed to avoid those little handheld servings of yummy, sugary, calorie-packed, waist-widening, addictive goodness. Until tomorrow. Tomorrow I will be having one of each from my beloved Gigi's:

Italian Cream

Kentucky Bourbon Pie

Instagram & Updates

So much for NaBloPoMo!

As I sit here icing my left knee (doh!) I decided it would be a good time to update my [few] readers on how things have been going. For one, I hurt my knee. It was that Jillian Michaels bitch; she is the devil and we are currently taking some time apart (although I plan on resuming my relationship with her in a few days). I am however continuing to run, because I know (as well as many of you do) that if I take time off from that, I have to start all over. I'm up to running 45 minutes at a time and I refuse to break the flow now (hence the ice...and ibuprofen...and ACE bandage ).

Work is going...okay. ICU is an entirely new world, and that world is filled with poop, overdoses, schizo's, and people whose families will not let them rest in peace. Needless to say, it's already wearing me out- emotionally and physically- and I'm in awe of those ICU nurses who do it their entire lives. They are definitely a special breed all of their own. I'm trying to hang in there the best that I can, but I don't see ICU being a long-term location for me.

As for everything else, it's hard to believe that summer is almost over- it's about to be August? That's crazy. Although I am looking forward to some fall weather...if NC and Mother Nature so choose to grant us seasons this year! The pets, AB, and family are all well, and we're trying to spend as much time as we can on the lake as opposed to sleeping (which night shift has been causing me to do extensively). Some in-laws are coming in to town this coming weekend and that should be a fun time; aside from Laird they're the only other nephews/niece that I have. I also have something else exciting (for me) in the works, but don't want to jinx it, so once it's more solid I will tell everyone what that actually is (oooo shady, I know).

Now, some Instagram:

RNIA & Facebook Divorce

eating/drinking: water. i'm in between running and jillian michaels 30 day shred

feeling: tired, but better than i was this morning. night shift has finally started exhausting me and i feel like all i want to do is sleep on the weekends

listening: to my dog gnawing on his foot, the cat's collar jingling while she licks her paws, and the tv

watching: a re-run of castle; my current favorite show to watch massive amounts of re-runs of

reading: bitter harvest by michael hicks; yes, i'm still working on that one (it's good, i've just been slack on reading lately)

loving: that i'm finally able to run 40 minutes without becoming out of breath. my former preceptor at work convinced me to slow my butt down until my lungs can catch up and while i hate running 14 minute miles at least i'm doing it! also, trader joe's cookie butter and dogfish head beer

disliking: my sheer exhaustion all of the time (not to mention a few other things, but i'll save those rants for a later post)

thinking: the same blank canvas has been sitting on the easel for weeks now. i told my husband i'm going to just sign my name at the bottom and title it "empty dreams"

hoping: i can get out of this mental slump sometime soon

wishing: that all of this exercising would actually result in some sort of weight loss but no, my body hangs on to fat like it's about to be starving on a deserted island

Tomorrow will mark my divorce from Facebook at 2 weeks; I actually cannot believe that I haven't even had the urge to get on there once. I guess that's a sign that it really wasn't for me anymore. I do, however, love Instagram- so if you have an account and I don't follow you, please let me know what your username is!

Pics and Prompt

AB and I are now off of work until Monday night so we're celebrating with homemade margaritas. I have to admit that they're exceptionally good this time.

I'm also continuing to work out with Jillian Michaels (granted, we've had a love-hate relationship recently) and run/ellipticate but this overwhelming heat and humidity has made the running part unusually hard lately. My in-laws were kind enough to snatch up a treadmill from one of their neighbors for me about a year ago, and due to it's size and weight it's always stayed in the garage. However, I've discovered that I'm a better afternoon/evening runner than morning one and it was becoming more than miserable to hit the pavement (or stay in the garage) due to it being way warmer at night. AB and I did some plotting and measuring, and determined that we could squeeze the treadmill in next to my baby grand. While it looks cramped, it's only for the summer, and happily for me, I'm able to watch TV from where it sits!

Prompt: Do you feel that you are connected to your community?

My gut instinct was to say "no", mainly because of my overwhelming antisocial-ness, but then I remembered that I'm an RN and I spend 36 hours a week taking care of the community. So...yes.

Couch to 10K

For the past 8 weights I've been fairly committed to keeping on schedule with my Couch to 10K program. In the past I've always just started running, gone as far as I could while still being able to breathe, and then on consecutive runs pushed myself a little further. As those who read my blog know, this never works out well because I always quit running at some point, and then I'm back to the beginning the next time around. This time (and because I'm captain for a 5K in April) I decided I would give the C210K app a try; it's free and I know several people who were able to get into running using it without having any issues. The company offers a Couch to 5K program also, but I figured if I'm going to try running [again] why not go semi-all out and try a 10K final distance? I have no desire to compete in a 10K but I'd love to be able to run for 60 minutes 3-4 days a week; it would help allow me to maintain my cupcake addiction.

With all of that being said, today I started on Week 9 Day 1. The program sets me up to run 3 days a week, using run/walk intervals, with a final goal of being able to run 60 minutes straight (or a 10K if our pace is a 10min/mile) after 14 weeks. At week 8, which is how long the Couch to 5K program takes, I was running a straight 30 minutes with no walking intervals (yay!). Today, however, jumped to the 10K part of the training and I had to run 10min/walk 1 min x 4 for a total of 40 minutes of running. It sucked. I made it, but I'm pretty sure I started going into respiratory distress, as my husband can attest to after having me call him from the treadmill gasping and asking for his inhaler. Regardless of the misery, I survived and will be treating myself to a homemade mini "Flight of Beers" (see future post) this evening.

I've also been using the MyFitnessPal application for the past 2 weeks to track calories and exercise. So far I've only lost 2 lbs but I'm holding out hope that my body is just being stubborn and will suddenly dump 5 lbs of fat overnight (let's ignore the medical issues with that dream). For now I'll just keep counting calories (boo) and trucking away on the treadmill.

Blogger Fail

So I'm realizing that when I work 4 days in a row at the hospital, and then come home at 9pm every night only to turn around and walk the dogs and then run/ellipticate, that I don't have much time to blog during the week. I also have no time to cook or be crafty so that totally puts a damper on my blog awesomeness. This past week was rather stressful; work has me wanting to pull my hair out and that's a bad thing seeing as though my hair is too thin anyways. I managed to exercise every day except for Wednesday and doing other cardio exercises is definitely helping with my breathing issues.

This weekend AB and I are headed to the lake (huge teardrop for boating season coming to an end, especially since we won't be here next year for it!), cooking out with my parents, cleaning (boo!), and I will attempt my canvas project I found on Pinterest. Get psyched for an update.

1 Year Anniversary

Although tomorrow is our actual 1 year anniversary, AB and I decided to go ahead and celebrate this weekend since we're both off of work. Last night we went to his parent's house and were treated to steak, baked potato, salad, and homemade peach cobbler. His mom made us a gorgeous quilt and shams for our bedroom which I promptly came home and put on the bed.

This evening we ordered take out sushi since our first date ever was at a sushi restaurant in Denver. The 1 year anniversary is a "paper" one so we bought each other a magazine subscription; I know, very original! We also thawed out our leftover wedding cake from last year- my cousin had baked us a mimosa cake and it survived the freezing surprisingly well. I doubt the ENTIRE thing will get eaten but we're definitely enjoying a few slices.

As for the running, I've been having a LOT of trouble breathing while running. I've tried slowing down (and I already run really slowly), breathing on different foot strokes, AB's inhaler- everything. A friend of mine mentioned trying more cardio exercises because my body may just be too out of shape so I've added in more power walking and elliptical. I've also been reading about target heart rates and needless to say, my heart rate has been in the 180's even with moderate exercise (which is too high for what I'm doing). I'm going to try increasing my cardio for a few more weeks, but if the HR doesn't lower then I may have to go see a doctor. My sister has been doing awesome with her 5K training program so I need to get my butt in shape before she smokes me at the run in October!

Kale Chips, Moving, & Running

I've heard many good reviews about kale chips so I decided to try making some of my own. I found a recipe on Food Network that was insanely basic (I need basic, I'm not a good cook), bought some organic kale from Earth Fare, and dug out our salad spinner.

First I cut the stems off...

Washed and dried the kale using our nifty spinner...

Then spread the leaves out on parchment paper and drizzled with olive oil...

The leaves went into the over at 275 for 20 min (stirring once after 10 min) and came out nice and crispy...

I sprinkled some sea salt on them right after cooking and the verdict? They taste AWESOME yet smell like total crap when being cooked. I thought the funky smell was coming from one of the dogs but no, it was the baking kale. I will definitely be making these again in the future although I'm not sure AB would be into them (baby steps).

While cooking the kale I stuffed my face with scuppernong grapes. My dad's family used to have a small vineyard with these grapes by the Pamlico River and I remember loving to eat them as a kid. Needless to say, they're just as good now...

Since stopping the Whole 30, I've been able to run every other day without any issues. I started doing some calf raises and squats, so my legs are sore right now, but at least I'm still progressing. I spoke to several coworkers today who have agreed to run the Color Me Rad 5K with me in October and I'm looking forward to not having to run alone! I still absolutely despise running, but it is the easiest and cheapest way to get in shape while still destroying my knees for the [distant] future.

AB and I are still contemplating our move next year; I think we're pretty much narrowed down to Colorado or Oregon. Alaska is just to far (especially for our older pets), Vancouver BC is too expensive (and there's the whole work visa thing), and Utah...well, AB isn't big on me having brother husbands. I keep saying we'll go where the jobs are but the area in Colorado we're considering is SO PRETTY! Sigh.

Whole 30 Update

So...the Whole 30 for me ended up being a fail. I know, I know, I'm such a quitter. Days 1 & 2 went okay but by Day 3 I was so exhausted that I was dragging my way through work. I got a full 9 hours of sleep Wednesday night and by Thursday morning I thought I was dying. At no point did I really have any cravings, and as someone in the medical field I completely understand that my body was just reacting to the lack of sugar and carbs, but it was getting to be too much. Several of my coworkers on Thursday asked me if I was okay and I was informed that my face was puffy and my eyes red and squinty. I figured "Okay, I can do this" anyways. Friday morning I was even more exhausted and decided that I actually couldn't do it anymore.

Based on the book I know the exhaustion was supposed to improve but I hadn't run in over a week, my dogs were getting gypped on their daily walks, and all I could think about was my bed. To add to the frustration, I gained 2 pounds during the week. Yesterday evening I decided to treat myself to a Gigi's cupcake and this morning I was 2 pounds lighter. Go figure. I still recommend this program for anyone that wants to clean out their system- and I fully intend on staying away from dairy and white flour/processed foods as much as possible (aside from Gigi's) from this point on- but my body and my mind needs energy and I need to run! I have a 5k in October and I don't need my non-running sister whooping my butt.

Today I woke up early (for a Saturday) and headed to my 4th laser hair removal appointment. I've been getting good results in some areas and crappy results in other areas (they use 2 different lasers) so when I told the woman today she didn't hesitate to blast it all super-strength. For anyone considering having it done, it DOES work and I would highly suggest Katie at Wake Health Medical Group in Raleigh, NC. It's not the most comfortable thing (I have to hold a stress ball and I repeatedly jump off the table) but it beats waxing every month.

Most of the afternoon has been spent watching LOST reruns with my husband and...he managed to get my computer working! Yay! I almost bought a new one last night but I'm glad I didn't. It's missing a lot of programs now but he managed to restore it to an earlier date and so far, so good. I hope to get lake pictures on here shortly.

This evening I decided to cook dinner rather than go anywhere to eat. I still had a load of veggies in the fridge from Earth Fare last week so I sauteed those, dumped in some pasta sauce, and made a half/half mixture of whole grain penne and regular (my husband refuses to eat all whole grain so we have to compromise some). It ended up being chunky and yummy. Of course I had to add in a Hell's Belle beer from Big Boss Brewing (we had this same beer at our wedding) because I do love my drinks. Tomorrow I will start back with the running (cross fingers) so I don't get too far behind.

Our compromise

Squash, zucchini, onions, and red peppers in olive oil with salt/pepper

The mixture with some turkey meat balls

Best beer ever aside from Newcastle and Blue Moon

Whole 30 Day 2

I feel exhausted! Tuesday is one of my scheduled running days and I literally could not get out of bed this morning to exercise. I thought I slept decently well but my energy is completely zapped. I realize this is probably due to my body being denied it's limitless amounts of sugar and cupcakes but I'm hoping it passes sooner rather than later. I hit the snooze button on my alarm from 6:30am-7:50am. Fail!

I have been eating better than usual, and sticking to the guidelines for the Whole 30 Program. Since I prefer to pack my 2 meals/day for work, I've been taking the easy road and making salads the past 2 days. I don't want to over-do them, but considering I don't like salads they've been rather tasty (and filling). I've been using organic greens, grilled chicken breast, avocado, tomatoes, cucumbers, Fiji apples, and olive oil/vinegar dressing.

My husband was nice enough to slow-cook me some chili today while I was at work. He managed to leave the beans and potatoes out that he loves so much so that I don't cheat any on the program. I believe he ended up using ground turkey, mushrooms, tomatoes, onions, cabbage, and peppers but I can't say what the seasoning is (mainly because I know nothing about cooking). I had a small bowl when I got home and it was fabulous; I think it will make a good meal for work the next few days.

I definitely plan on sticking with the program the entire 30 days but I'm crossing my fingers that the energy levels increase. I'm training for the 5K in October with my sister and I don't want to be dragging behind.

Random thing: someone gave me an orchid about 5 years ago and it never bloomed again after that year...until AB managed to get it to last week. He's very proud of himself.

Whole 30, 50 Milers, & Versed

Recently a coworker told me about the Whole 30 Program, which is essentially a way of eating that cuts out grains, dairy, sugar, and processed foods and is comprised of meats, seafood, eggs, veggies, some fruits, and healthy fats. The developers of the program claim that 30 days of eating as outlined can increase energy, solve sleep issues, increase performance, and cure skin issues among many other things. Since my dermatologist recently suggested I cut out milk and sugar in an attempt to treat my hormonal acne, I figured I would give this 30 day program a shot. It seems pretty strict, but I need to work on my willpower, and anything to give me energy would be awesome. I foresee some struggles since AB eats anything and everything, but maybe I can get him to at least meet me half way. I went ahead and purchased the book "It Starts With Food" even though the website lays everything out in PDF files (what can I say? I'm a book whore). The reviews for the book are 99% good so it's hard to argue that! AB and I are headed to the lake one more time this weekend with his family so I will plan on starting this coming Monday.

One of the things that helps me with running is getting motivation from "real" runners' blogs. There's a list of blogs that I frequent on the right side of this one and I recommend all of them. Last night I was browsing them before bed and discovered that one of the bloggers- Runner's Rambles- is currently training for her (second) 50 mile race. Holy crap- I have trouble running 2 miles and this chick can run 50! I couldn't help but read about her first 50 mile race and surprisingly I wanted to go straight out and try to run as far as I could (which at this point means I might make it to 2.5). Unfortunately, it was 11pm so I would have to bottle my sudden burst of motivation for another day. I have absolutely no intention of ever trying to run 50 miles, but it definitely makes me want to try for a half-marathon if anything. Tomorrow morning I'm trying for 1.5 miles and although I'm increasing my distance slowly, I'm determined not to injure myself.

On the topic of blogs, another coworker today showed me a blog that an RN writes and I have to say it is one of the FUNNIEST things I have ever read. This person types a caption and then follows it with an animated clip that describes the caption. If you're not a nurse it won't be as entertaining, but if you are one then there's absolutely no way you won't have a sore stomach from laughing so hard. I give the author crazy props for being so creative.

Patient Stories:

Pt: Are you new?
Me: Yes sir, it's my first day. (It was not my first day by any means)
Pt: Really? You seem to know what you're doing. 
Me: Thanks. You're my first patient.
Pt: I never would have guessed. You must be bright.
Me: I have my moments.
Pt: Are you nervous?
Me: Nah, my shift is almost over. You're still alive so I'm optimistic that my second day will be even better.
(Pt had a sense of humor and I knew this before we had this conversation. Just FYI)

Pt: I need to go to the bathroom.
Me: I'll get you a urinal.
Pt: I need to do a deuce.
Me: I'll get you a bedpan.
Pt: No, I need to get up.
Me: You just had surgery, you're not getting up.
Pt: Well I'm not going in the bed.
Me: You're right- you're going in a bedPAN.
Pt: I'm getting up.
Me: That's not going to happen.
Pt: But I need to use the bathroom.
Me: So I'll get you a bedpan.
Pt: You're saying you won't let me get up.
Me: I'm saying you have 2 options- 1 is getting on a bedpan and 2 is holding it.
Pt: I'll hold it.
(2 minutes later)
Pt: I need to get up and go to the bathroom.
(Repeat above conversation. Sometimes I actually DON'T like Versed)